[seeriously]

Originally Posted by giddyup

Thanks for your response, how can a seller force you to use their lender? (I understand how a builder could do that... but not any old seller)


Thank you.

No one can force anyone to do anything, seller's market or buyer's market. You also can't force a seller to pick up your closing costs. A seller has to pay his own selling costs and he has to pay closing costs as a buyer on the house he is moving to. Yes, if he really wants to sell, he can pick up your closing costs but if I were the seller I'd expect you to come to the sale prepared and to pick up your own closing costs. You should know what your closing costs will be, what your insurance will be, and what your property tax will be.

[seeriously]

There's no advantage to you in asking a seller to pay your closing costs. It is better to just make a lower offer. The price you pay on your new home determines your property tax base. The county isn't going to subtract $6,000 from your purchase price to determine your property taxes.

[Soflosteph]

In Florida there is a law that requires lenders/mortgage brokers to deliver a valid closing statemnt to both parties 48 hours prior to closing. I suggest you scrutinize it carefully and ask for an explanantion for any fee that you don't understand. Also, there is a sneaky trick that mortgage brokers use to get more money from buyers. It is call YSP or Yield Spread Premium. Just google those words and see what comes up. Once I knew about this I starting asking the brokers up front if they do this and let me tell you, they were not happy to be asked that question. I finally found a broker who pledged to charge only the upfront, fully disclosed orgination fee and no other YSP fees. I told her that if there was a YSP fee on the closing statement, I would not proceed with the purchase.

[Moving2FL]

I have always found it to be pretty common that the seller pays all closing costs. If you are a buyer that is paying your closing costs and yo uare not in a hot market like LA or NY then your realtor is not working well for you. You should be able to get the buyer to pay those costs.